g********d 发帖数: 4174 | 1 Posted on Advocate.com January 14, 2011
Freedom to Marry Reboots
By Julie Bolcer
Evan Wolfson The first high-profile fundraiser of the year for marriage
equality provided the occasion Thursday for Freedom to Marry to step forward
as the campaign to win marriage nationwide, with plans that include an
expanded public education effort and a new presence in Washington, D.C.
Warmed by recent progress on an otherwise bitterly cold New York City
evening, an overflow crowd packed into the downtown Manhattan home of newly
engaged couple, Freedom to Marry political director Sean Eldridge and
Facebook cofounder and Jumo founder Chris Hughes. Attendees contributed $250
and up to mingle with other guests brought together by honorary hosts
including U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Newark mayor Cory Booker, New
York City council speaker Christine Quinn, Margaret Hoover, and Ivanka Trump
and Jared Kushner. Cohosts included former Republican National Committee
chairman Ken Mehlman, David Mixner, Kate Clinton, and Urvashi Vaid, and many
others.
Founded in 2003 by civil rights attorney Evan Wolfson, Freedom to Marry is
experiencing a growth period spurred by rapid legal, political, and social
developments. This year, three states – Maryland, New York, and Rhode
Island – appear on the cusp of passing marriage equality, and the right
needs to be preserved in Iowa and New Hampshire, all while the federal case
against Proposition 8 proceeds in California. And last year, for the first
time, polls showed that a majority of Americans support marriage equality.
Meanwhile, opposition groups like the antigay National Organization for
Marriage continue to position for battle.
In brief remarks at the event, Mayor Booker, a bachelor at age 41, joked
about pressure from his mother to get married, and stated his pledge not to
officiate marriages until all couples can legally marry in New Jersey. An
effort to pass marriage equality in the state failed last year. Meanwhile,
New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman and speaker Quinn expressed
confidence that marriage equality would pass in the current session of the
New York state legislature following a 2009 loss.
“Think of what New York not having marriage equality allows other states to
do,” said Quinn. “They can say, ‘If New York doesn’t have it, why do we
have to have it? Those crazy liberals in New York.’”
Wolfson, the executive director of Freedom to Marry, concluded the remarks
session with a broad outline of his group’s plans based on its three-
pronged Roadmap to Victory. The approach calls for winning marriage in more
states, growing the majority support for marriage, and ending federal
marriage discrimination in conjunction with partner organizations throughout
the country in 2011 and beyond.
Based on 85 data sets from campaigns including work in Maine and California,
Wolfson said, his group would soon unveil a new public education campaign,
Why Marriage Matters, that aims to increase the majority percentage of
Americans who support marriage equality from 52% to as high as 58% over the
next three years. He said the campaign would ideally be bolstered by an
initial $1.5 million national ad buy, followed by $3 to $10 million in ad
buys.
“We believe we have cracked the code on the language, the messages, the
messengers, and the time it will take to engage people and move them along
and we want to put that campaign forward,” he said.
Wolfson also announced that Freedom to Marry would launch a presence in
Washington, D.C., this year to lay groundwork with federal lawmakers,
President Barack Obama, and the Supreme Court.
"There is going to be a focused, clear, sustained, spearheaded campaign to
elevate that conversation about why marriage matters in Washington," he said
. "Creating the climate, increasing the numbers in Congress, helping the
president on his journey to marriage support – a journey he's on his way on
and we’re going to get him there. And creating the climate that will
enable the Supreme Court of the United States, including Justice Kennedy, to
understand that history will vindicate them if they do the right thing
should any of the federal litigation that’s now bubbling up around the
country make it to the Supreme Court, and the clock is ticking on those
cases."
Organizers said they were still tallying the amount of money raised by the
event, which exceeded attendance expectations. |
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